MoAb firm Cytogen to acquire Cellcor

Monoclonal antibody developer Cytogen of Princeton, NJ, has signeda definitive agreement to acquire Cellcor, a biotechnology firmbased in Newton, MA, that is developing a technique called autolymphocytetherapy (ALT), which uses a patient's immune cells to treat cancerand infectious diseases. Cellcor's first product, for treatingrenal cell carcinoma, is in phase III clinical studies.

The transaction will be handled through a stock swap, withCellcor shareholders receiving 0.6 shares of Cytogen stock foreach of the 5.5 million shares of Cellcor common stock. The dealwas valued at $19.5 million by analysts, who said Cellcor wasdown to its last month of cash.

In other Cytogen news, the company filed a new drug application(NDA) with the Food and Drug Administration for Quadramet, a samarium-153-basedagent for the treatment of pain due to cancer that has spreadto the bone. Cytogen has licensed U.S. marketing and manufacturingrights for Quadramet to Du Pont Merck.